Katherina woke to a field of flowers. A sea of colors and warmth as the sun beamed down at her. The wind blowing softly, moving the tall grass like dancers bending to a melody.
Trees thick and full with life, their leaves in different shapes and sizes. Everything seemed to glow around her. Butterflies resting on her skin as she stretched. Her hair wild and free, burning and yet no flame touched the flammable earth.
Her scars on display as she crossed her arms over her chest, her nude body drinking up the sun. She should be worried, ashamed, scared- how had she gotten here? Where was Caldor, Hemera, Thea.
The Darkness.
Shadows swirling around her, like birds of night flying in the day. Smoke of whispers form a God.
But Katherina just closed her eyes, her hands feeling up to see what was the weight on her head. Her eyes widened in alarm as she felt a crown. Before she could take it off, she noticed her hands were bloody, all where she touched, her skin stained with the red liquid.
That's when she noticed the castle behind her. White stone walls covered in vines and roses. A male at the porch.
His hair sun-kissed by the stars, his eyes of Summer's seas. His hands were stained with paint of orange, green, pink and brown. Some yellow smudged under his eyes. A paintbrush in his hand as he looked at her.
"Who are you...?" he whispered.
She opened her mouth to speak before he started to yell.
"-rina..."
What?
"-therina?"
The world around her began to turn to ash, blue flames surrounding her as she felt them touch her.
"Katherina."
She looked at the male one last time, before the fire swallowed her.
"Katherina!"
She blinked, her mind coming back to focus on the road ahead of her. The cruel sun blocked by the forest of the Day Court. Her clothes wet from the humid atmosphere.
Hemera and Thea meeting them at her apartment, bringing a welcome gift of eggs, bacon, toast and chocolate for her and Caldor. Their reaction to seeing him all warm and friendly, immediately falling in rhythm with him as though they were all long lost friends.
She tilted her head to spot Caldor walking with Hemera. A playful smirk on his face with her, competitive smirk plastered on hers. Making bets and challenges. Katherina felt her heart warm.
She turned to Thea who looked at her with worried eyes.
"I'm fine," she reassured. "I was just thinking about this strange dream I had."
"What was it about?" Thea asked quietly, walking slightly faster ahead to make sure that her twin and Caldor didn't hear in case Katherina wanted to say something personal.
Not that they could hear from all the shouting.
"I was in a field of flora, surrounded by woods and a castle. My hands were stained with blood and there was a crown on my head," she explained, trying to piece the memory together. "I was naked and when I turned, there was this male looking at me. His hands were covered in paint and he was asking me who I was.
He looked so familiar and yet Katherina could not place her finger on it. He looked just as confused as she was. Something about him that she'd seen- touched before.
Hair kissed by the stars, eyes of Summer seas, satin skin like hers, but different. Though he's been in the dark so long, light seemed to be something he craved but couldn't have.
"Do you know who that was?" Thea asked.
Katherina shook her head, "Actually, I'm not certain. I feel like I should- that I do know him but I just can't seem to figure out who."
"You must have seen him before, minds don't forget faces."
Faces.
He had a strange face. Something she had seen, something she loved and yet felt that she hated. As though the stranger was the face of two. But of two who?
Katherina breathed out. Not everything has an answer, sometimes things just happen because. It might just have been a dream. No explanation, no reason. Just a dream.
They spent the day hiking through the forest, deciding to explore before reaching the Court of Dawn.
Laughing with Hemera as she told them embarrassing childhood stories.
"Did you really fall from a tree because of a bug?" Caldor chuckled as Katherina crossed her arms in defense.
"It was huge!" she exclaimed. "It was as big as my hand. Either I jump, or die from just looking at that creature."
"It was as big as my nail," Thea grinned, squealing as Katherina ran to tackle her.
They talked about how she and Caldor met, how she knew Thea and Hemera. Stories and tales went on for hours as they ventured through the leaves. Laughing as Caldor seemed to have the most trouble with his wings.
"Can't you just swing your hand and make them go away? I heard your High lord can," Hemera said.
"I was born with these. My High Lord has the power to summon his unlike mine. They're made, mine are born."
"I've always wondered what it's like to fly, Hemera and I are fascinated by the ability to be able to reach up to the sky and touch the clouds." Thea said.
"That's why we do what we do-" Hemera replied, grabbing onto a vine. Giving it a few tugs before pulling herself up, swinging her legs before jumping to another. "We glide, Illyrian!"
Thea chuckled before following her sister. Caldor watched in awe before Katherina tapped him. "Come on! They're beating us!"
"What?"
She smiled before sprinting off, shouting to him. "It's a race that you're about to lose!"
Caldor didn't need to think twice before flying up at the tip from where the trees ended, giving him better access to fly.
The forest echoed with laughs and cheers.
Thea and Hemera dancing through the leaves, Caldor soaring in the sky and Katherina running on the earth. She may lack wings and agility to glide on vines but Katherina was fast.
She knew with just enough focus and strength, Katherina jumped through the air, pushing herself off the ground, laughing at their faces as they looked at her in surprise on how high she could go. And once she landed on the branch, just a second ahead, she bounced- her balance perfect as she climbed.
Thank you, Ziv.
Their years of climbing, trees, mountains, anything. Making her balance, stability, and stamina double.
It won't be long, from this rate that they'll reach Dawn. Racing to Sahar- to finish their inner circle.
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Hello my readers! Thank you so much for waiting, I'm very sorry that it's been a long while since I last posted. I have an excuse that it was not because I forgot or because I was lazy.
I've been to Puerto Rico, Colombia and two weeks ago, I finally came back home! I could take my computer and writing on my phone is a lot harder.
When we came back, two days later had to go to the doctors to check on how I was doing and how my spine is.
I have scoliosis and recently, I found out that after three years of being told that everything was fine that my degree wasn't moving, is that I'll need surgery. So it's been a tired some few weeks to organize everything- getting appointment after appointments to make sure everything else is okay so that I'm ready for the surgery that will happen July 5th.
I will try to write as many chapters as possible before the data so that I can feed your hunger ( and rest my mind from all the ideas ) of this story.
I won't you guys down! Thank you again for having patience. And just a reminder that if you're bored and I haven't posted on "My Darling Katherina" i ah e another fanfiction called, "The son of Night & Spring" about what if Feyre had a child with Tamlin before she met Rhysand.
Thank you all again and for reaching 30k reads!!! It means a lot to me. You have no idea and just your comments and votes make me very happy.
Also, if you guys know any books I should read, send me the names!